Minister on implementation of the Sanitary Dignity Programme

Multi-Party Women’s Caucus

20 May 2021
Chairperson: Ms K Bilankulu (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

Video: Multi-Party Women’s Caucus

The Multi-Party Women’s Caucus was convened virtually to receive a briefing by the Minister for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities on the implementation of the Sanitary Dignity Programme. Many of the Members were unable to attend because they were participating in a mini-plenary sitting of Parliament.

Those that were present were told by the Minister and the Chief Director of the Department that the purpose of the programme was to ensure that girls could manage menstruation in a healthy and dignified manner. They heard that it could also provide opportunities for women, youth and persons with disabilities through local manufacturing, storage and waste disposal associated with sanitary pads.

Due to the different levels of readiness in provinces, the project had so far been implemented only in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Western Cape and the Free State. The remaining provinces were struggling with implementation. The biggest challenge was water infrastructure in certain parts of the country, especially in rural areas. Schools in those areas were burdened with water supply, sanitation, hygiene and waste disposal issues. The Minister said the Department was acutely aware of those issues and was proactively looking for solutions.

The Department was requested to return to the Committee to give another briefing when more Members were able to attend. Members agreed that the content of the briefing was highly important to women’s welfare. They appreciated the Department’s collaborative work with other government departments to implement the programme and enquired about the specific roles some departments had played in the roll out process. Members agreed that the monitoring of the programme could be a challenge and believed that the Department of Water and Sanitation also needed to be onboard to improve water supply infrastructure to schools in rural areas.

Meeting report

The Chairperson opened the meeting and laid out the agenda. The Minister for Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities, Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, was present on the virtual platform.

The Chairperson invited the Minister to make her opening remarks and to brief the Committee on the implementation of the government’s Sanitary Dignity Programme.  The Minister noted that her deputy minister was not among the attendees.

The Minister remarked that South Africa would be celebrating 150 years since the birth of Charlotte Maxeke who was the first black female scientist in South Africa. The Minister was certain that Ms Maxeke must have participated in many of the same projects on which the Department was currently embarking.

Sanitary Dignity Programme

The Minister said one of her Department’s most important projects was the Sanitary Dignity Programme. The purpose was to ensure that girls could manage menstruation in a healthy and dignified manner. The programme also aimed to address nursery health, sexual reproduction and health rights for women.

The Minister also highlighted the economic value chain which the programme could bring for women. Specifically, it could benefit women, youth and persons with disabilities through local manufacturing, storage and waste disposal that were associated with sanitary pads. She acknowledged that more work had to be done to streamline the beneficiation value chain.

The Minister informed the Committee that the National Treasury allocated funding for the programme for the first time in April 2019. It took the form of equitable share allocations to the provinces for the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period. The Minister of Finance also announced that sanitary pads would be zero-rated for VAT as of 15 April 2019.

The Minister outlined the challenges in implementing the project. The number one issue was water infrastructure in certain parts of the country, especially in rural areas. Schools in those areas were burdened with water supply, sanitation, hygiene and waste disposal issues. She said that the department was acutely aware of those issues and was proactively looking for solutions to address these challenges.

The Minister reported on the roll out of the programme. She said that the implementation did not happen simultaneously across all provinces in the country. Due to the different levels of readiness in provinces, institutional mechanisms, and availability of human resources, the project had so far been implemented only in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Western Cape and the Free State. The remaining provinces were struggling with implementation. With the Department’s intervention, things were beginning to improve incrementally. It was anticipated that by the end of the 2020/21 financial year, all provinces would have rolled out the programme to all learners. She assured members that proper monitoring was taking place to ensure the quality of the project.

The Minister informed the Committee that the department had convened workshops with provinces on 12 May 2021 to ensure uniformity of implementation amongst provinces. She was glad to hear that the Committee had decided to summon provinces to brief it on the implementation of the project on an annual basis.

The Minister concluded her remarks. The Chairperson thanked the Minister.

The Chairperson enquired whether the Department would still give the Committee a briefing. The Minister responded that, given the importance of the programme and that the National Treasury had dispersed money to provinces but did not monitor the spending of the funds in provinces, the Department would have to return to report to the Committee.

Ms B Maluleke (ANC) asked whether the Department’s Chief Director could brief the Committee.

The Chairperson said that she had realised only a few Members were on the virtual platform due to the mini-plenary sitting of Parliament. . She was aware that the Committee needed to call the Department to brief it again.

Briefing by the Chief Director

Mr Sipiwo Matshoba, Chief Director, Social Empowerment and Participation, DWYPD, reiterated that the equitable share allocation for the Sanitary Dignitary Programme was so that young female learners could purchase menstrual products. Through collaboration with its sister departments such as the Department of Higher Education and Training, products were also given to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) for distribution among NSFAS beneficiaries. The monthly stipend was R290 for NSFAS beneficiaries. In addition, the Department of Health had also set aside funding for menstrual products in maternity and psychiatric wards. He assured the Committee that women in correctional centres would receive menstrual products as well. He thanked the Departments of Higher Education and Training, Health and Correctional Services for their participation in the programme and clarified that the funding that those three departments used was not from the provincial equitable share.

Mr Matshoba explained the impact of programmes and outlined the number of learners who were beneficiaries of the programme in each province. The Department was busy with a process of refining and updating the information. It was estimated that a total of 2.3 million female learners were beneficiaries of the project.

Mr Matshoba said the Department had forged partnerships with various organisations in the roll out process as it was impossible for the Department to manage it on its own. The partners included the SA Bureau of Standards, the United Nations Population Fund, UN Women, Days for Girls, WaterAid, MIET Africa, the Footprints Foundation and others.  The department also used this programme to train and upskill women in the manufacturing of sanitary products. 

Mr Matshoba highlighted the economic value chain on which the logic of the programme was premised. It was centred on the benefits for women, youth and persons with disabilities. The department had instructed that the procurement process should unapologetically prioritise the businesses owned by women, youth and persons with disabilities. In addition to that, the department had also held workshops with other governmental departments such as the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, and the Department of Small Business Development to request them to prioritise women, youth and persons with disabilities as well.

Discussion

The Chairperson remarked that she had been given a lot of useful information which she had not been aware of in the past. She believed that it would be more useful if more people from the Multi-Party Women’s Caucus could listen to the briefing once the Department returned to the Committee.

The Chairperson asked Members to engage with the content of the briefing. 

Ms Z Nkomo (ANC) agreed with the Chairperson that the Department should come back and make a presentation to the broader caucus.

Ms Nkomo commended and encouraged the Department’s collaboration with other Departments to promote young girls’ interests in rural areas.

The Chairperson asked Mr Motshoba what role the national Department of Social Development was playing in the implementation of the programme. She was aware that the Department of Basic Education had been involved in the distribution of sanitary pads.

Mr Matshoba made reference to his briefing and said that the provincial Departments of Social Development in five provinces were implementing this programme. The national Department engaged with communities through its social relief distress programme and assisted in the distribution of sanitary pads. He highlighted that during the harsh lockdown Levels 4 and 5, the national Department of Social Development was heavily involved in the programme as many of the other organisations were not allowed to operate and conduct their daily business.

The Chairperson noted that the presentation mentioned local manufacturers in four provinces. She wanted to know what would happen in the remaining five and whether there was any intention to start manufacturing in those or not.

Mr Matshoba responded that the Department’s aspiration was that all provinces must have manufacturing capacity through SMMEs or corporate sectors. The Department was currently developing a database on women, youth and persons with disabilities who were interested in manufacturing sanitary pads. There was an uneven dynamic across the country as women’s initiation and participation were better in provinces such as Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal than in others. After manufacturing, the Department only needed to ensure health and quality standards by using the South African Bureau of Standards. to test the products. The Department’s objective was for all women to have this opportunity and to create an enabling environment for them to make this possible.

The Chairperson said that monitoring of this programme could be a challenge. She asked the Department to look into the issue of the appropriate accounting department to monitor the implementation of the programme in all provinces and to report back on this when it returned to the Committee.

The Chairperson also noted the issue of water supply in some schools. Although municipalities had been trying to solve the issue temporarily by providing water tankers, she believed that in the long term it needed the Department of Water and Sanitation to ensure stable water supply.

Committee Minutes

The Committee Secretary informed the Chairperson that since there was no quorum, Members could not adopt any programmes or minutes at this meeting. The adoption of minutes was rescheduled for the following week.

The meeting was adjourned.

 

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